Although many theorists have hypothesized about the consequences of differential socialization of affect on children, few studies have actually investigated these issues. Therefore, to better understand the social and emotional development of children, this research examines: (a) the influence of family norms and values for emotional expression (family expressiveness) on children's self-expressiveness, (b) the influence of family and self-expressiveness on nonverbal communication skills, including deception, and (c) the influence of family and self-expressiveness on personality attributions, satisfying social interaction, and friendship patterns. Family styles of emotional expression will be assessed by parental responses to a previously developed questionnaire. Children's nonverbal behaviors will be assessed in various interpersonal settings, some of which also involve deception (e.g., playing card games), using standard practices of videotaping and ratings of videotapes and transcripts. Friendship patterns, personality characteristics, and social adjustment will be evaluated by teachers', judges', and children's ratings. Together, these data will allow for a comprehensive consideration of children's developing nonverbal behavior and social skills, as influenced by the family norms and values for emotional expression, and as influencing subsequent behavior, skill, and attributions of others. Knowledge of these relationships will advance our understanding of social and emotional development, and our ability to optimize that development in our children.